We understand, dear reader, that perhaps you’re growing a bit tired with our constant waxing poetic about the magic of the Ardèche. And yet, we simply can’t help ourselves. The beauty, biophysical and human, that runs rampant! The distinct identities, each pocket a different swath of energy, of personality, of character! The refusal to capitulate to chemical farming! The romance, the multiplicity, the defiance of the norm…

The Ardèche is a patchwork of infinite fabrics, textures and colors, each shred so vivid it could be its own tapestry.

We’d imagine the wines of Patricia & Rémi Bonneton of L’Alezan, in this case, to be a patch of bright yellow, like sunshine with the feeling of corduroy. Inviting and comforting, imbued with kindness and nostalgia, a memory easy to revisit. Their makers are much the same. First crossing paths in 2013, Patricia and Rémi are the embodiment of joie de vivre, and they have fashioned their property into nothing short of a fairytale. Their house—up a rugged hill, overlooking bountiful, green valleys. The fields—painted with wildflowers of white and yellow. The vines—sprinkled throughout the slopes where the Ardèche meets the Drôme, with pitches ranging from gentle to athletic, some so severe you could ski down them. Trees—surrounding every parcel, presiding over them like statues.

To learn their history is to learn how they work with such care and patience. They tell us a story about one of their early parcels (which Patricia giddily describes as “my little piece of paradise”) that was mistreated for decades: eighty-year-old vines, on the verge of being torn-up, just barely surviving. After some years of lease-battles, they were granted custody back in 2014. It was overgrown and wild, a complicated parcel to work due to the steep pitch (not dissimilar to those in neighboring Saint Joseph or Hermitage). Yet today, nine years later, their meticulous work, love, and care have materialized as beautiful fruit. “Resilience can change destiny,” says Patricia. “The vine that suffers, adapts. It’s a great quality, to adapt to everything from the 1940s to now.”

The phrase fait avec amour (“made with love”) takes on new meaning here. Love is labor for Patricia and Rémi, who remark that they’re “not ready to have help” when it comes to the harvest and winemaking. “There’s at least a month where we don’t see much of each other… We say hello, goodbye, we meet and talk about what’s going on,” they explain. All in the name of tender love and care—being attentive to barrels with the needs of crying infants, requiring a nighttime pressing, or grapes that need harvesting bright and early the next day. And now, ten years on, the maturity of their estate is palpable.

When we depart from their homestead, we mention our long day of train travel ahead. They don’t let us leave without a bowl of pasta, a fork from their pantry, a wine glass and a couple bottles for the road.

L’ALEZAN

Country: France

Region: Ardèche

Sub-region or Appellation: Doux Valley, Saint Joseph (not appellated)

Winemakers: Patricia & Rémi Bonneton

Viticulture: Organic

Terroir: Clay, Granite, Limestone

Size: 7 ha

Instagram: @patriciaetremibonneton

L’ALEZAN :: Libres et Resistants

Born of the freedom of experimention, this beguiling wine is the stuff of dreams. Villard blanc is floated in a press of Chambourcin from the north of the Drôme for co-fermentation then riddled daily and ultimately disgorged by hand. The result is a lip-smacking, thirst-quenching pet'nat with a fine bubble—a hybrid wine that can stand either on its own or in the company of vinifera.

Vintage: 2023
Varieties: Villard Blanc, Chambourcin
Style: Sparkling Red Wine
ABV: 12%
Region: Ardèche
Sub-Region or Appellation: Doux Valley
Viticulture: Organic
Age of Vines:
Soils:
Vinification: Villard Blanc is floated in a press of Chambourcin. Pet’nat fermentation
Aging: In bottle
Fining or Filtering: None
Sulfur: Minimal

L’ALEZAN :: Encore!

This delightful Syrah-Grenache blend is a wine that elicits a whole bunch of exclamation points!!! Whole clusters of Syrah are macerated for one-week before taking a dip in a bath of already-pressed Syrah and Grenache juice.

Vintage: 2023
Varieties: Syrah, Grenache
Style: Red Wine
ABV: 13%
Region: Ardèche
Sub-Region or Appellation: Doux Valley
Viticulture: Organic
Age of Vines:
Soils: Clay, limestone
Vinification: Syrah undergoes one week of whole-cluster fermentation, later floated in Syrah and Grenache juice
Aging: Three months in stainless steel
Fining or Filtering: None
Sulfur: Minimal

L’ALEZAN :: Ho’oponopono

Named after a Hawaiian healing mantra that also serves as a hymn for acceptance and resolution, this harmonious blend of Viognier, Marsanne, Roussanne is macerated whole cluster for 7 days before aging in a mix of foudre, tinaja (Spanish amphora) and stainless steel tanks. The result is a light maceration with just the right balance of structure, freshness, and drinkability.

Vintage: 2022
Varieties: Viognier, Marsanne, Roussanne
Style: Orange Wine
ABV: 11%
Region: Ardèche
Sub-Region or Appellation: Doux Valley
Viticulture: Organic
Age of Vines:
Soils: Clay, limestone, & galets roulés
Vinification: Grapes co-macerate for seven days
Aging: 8 months in foudre, amphora, and stainless steel
Fining or Filtering: None
Sulfur: none added

L’ALEZAN :: Les Vains

Ten-day maceration of whole cluster Cinsault and Grenache. One year élevage in foudre, amphora and demi muid.

Vintage: 2022
Varieties: Cinsault, Grenache
Style: Red Wine
ABV: 11.5%
Region: Ardèche
Sub-Region or Appellation: Doux Valley
Viticulture: Organic
Age of Vines:
Soils: Clay, limestone
Vinification: Whole-cluster maceration for ten days
Aging: 12 months in foudre, amphora, & demi-muid
Fining or Filtering: None
Sulfur: 18 mg/L

L’ALEZAN :: Potion

A festive and complex blend that cures all soif-related maladies. Carignan from the clay-limestone terroir of Vaucluse is macerated for 10 days, vinified, then aged for 1 year before the final addition of Grenache and Syrah for freshness and elegance.

Vintage: 2022
Varieties: Carignan, Grenache, Syrah
Style: Red Wine
ABV: 13%
Region: Ardèche
Sub-Region or Appellation: Doux Valley
Viticulture: Organic
Age of Vines:
Soils:
Vinification: Vinified separately
Aging: 1 year in barrels and amphora
Fining or Filtering: None

L’ALEZAN :: Suspens

An exceptional cuvée that is made only in the best years, Suspens is the grand reward for the tremendous work of tending to a very special plot of Marsanne and Roussanne planted on extremely steep hills. 100% of the work in this vineyard is done by hand—an athletic endeavor given the pitch of the slope. The grapes are direct-pressed into Spanish tinajas which preserve the salinity of the terroir whence they came.

Vintage: 2022
Varieties: Marsanne, Roussanne
Style: White Wine
ABV: 12.5%
Region: Ardèche
Sub-Region or Appellation: Doux Valley
Viticulture: Organic
Age of Vines:
Soils:
Vinification: Direct-pressed
Aging: 1 year in amphora
Fining or Filtering: None

L’ALEZAN :: Résilience

This rarest of Alezan cuvées is released only in certain vintages and is made from old-vine Serine and Syrah planted in 1944 on ulta-steep terraces of sandy granite and gneiss. An exceptional red wine, it is the result of a two-week maceration with whole grapes, allowing the terroir to express itself without any added sulfites. It then spends one year of aging in demi-muids and tinajas, which softens the tannins and culminates in a well-balanced and aromatically complex stunner.

Vintage: 2022
Varieties: Serine, Syrah
Style: Red Wine
ABV: 12%
Region: Ardèche
Sub-Region or Appellation: Doux Valley
Viticulture: Organic
Age of Vines: ~80 years old
Soils: Granite, gneiss
Vinification: Direct-pressed
Aging: 1 year in amphora
Fining or Filtering: None

L’ALEZAN :: Ostara

The inverse of Encore! Two-thirds Grenache and one third Syrah.

Vintage: 2022
Varieties: Grenache, Syrah
Style: Red Wine
ABV: 13%
Region: Ardèche
Sub-Region or Appellation: Doux Valley
Viticulture: Organic
Age of Vines:
Soils:
Vinification: Grenache is fermented whole-cluster, then floated in direct-pressed Grenache and Syrah juice
Aging: Stainless steel
Fining or Filtering: None
Sulfur: 8 mg/L

L’ALEZAN :: La Miquale

Fifteen-day whole cluster maceration of Syrah and Serine (an ancestor of Syrah). A blend of 2021 (8 months in demi-muid) and 2020 (1.5 years in amphora).

Vintage: NV (2020 + 2021)
Varieties: Syrah, Serine
Style: Red Wine
ABV: 10.5%
Region: Ardèche
Sub-Region or Appellation: Doux Valley
Viticulture: Organic
Age of Vines:
Soils: Clay, limestone
Vinification: 15 day whole-cluster maceration
Aging: 2020 ages for 1.5 years in amphora, 2021 ages for 8 months in demi-muid
Fining or Filtering: None
Sulfur: none added